Started working on a rebuild the other day. The original was an experiment using a single piece of blue Dow XPS foam. The slab was 3" thick 8’ long and 24" wide, and I made a 8’ egg without adding extra rocker. I never gave that board a good testing, just put it up in the rafters and moved on.
I cut out the shape I want about an inch narrower and stripped the board. I was amazed at how cleanly the glass came off, no tearing.
This original board didn’t have much rocker, so I will be pressing in the rocker I want. I made a rocker table and cut out perimeter rails to match the rocker. I also cut the outline from a piece of 1/8" mahogany ply, then cut it in half and added a white wood center strip. This will be the bottom skin and once the rails are secure, I’ll add the bottom. The bottom is a little wider than the core, so I’ll have an edge to lay more pieces of rail. The outer pieces will overlap the bottom skin. Once the rails are done I’ll profile the deck and work on the top. I want to use a lot of small pieces of wood to make a nice design so it will take some time. Hopefully I will get a little divine intervention and it will all come together the way it’s supposed to.
This board is about learning how to make a nice wood skin using lots of small pieces. It’s also a chance to learn how to use a few new tools I was given recently. The next board will need to be really special. My brother’s friend gave him about $5K of wood working tools recently, and he gave me some of them. I want to make a wood board for her using the tools she gave us.
So far, I’ve got the rails on and maybe tomorrow I’ll add the bottom. I’m using foaming poly glue instead of epoxy right now.
wow, that is looking so cool. thanx for all the pics! Love the rocker table.
the tool lady - does she surf? or is her project gonna be a wall hanger? I’m really stoked on that project, just know its gonna be awesome!
She doesn’t surf, it will be a wall hanger. Her partner was a wood worker and passed away a little over a year ago. She is planning on selling her home, so she is clearing out a lot of stuff. She’ll eventually move back to her ranch in Arizona, but I think the board we make will be a nice way to remember Hawaii.
I scored a heavy duty drill press with stand, a nice large bandsaw, a couple of chop saws, a lathe, and several benchtop sanders. My brother kept a bunch of sanders, a nice big scroll saw, a lathe with all the cutting tools, and a bunch of other stuff. He already has similar tools to what he gave me. Most of the tools were bought from woodcraft.
This board will be for a former co-worker of mine who doesn’t surf. He was mentioning that it would be cool to have a board, so I’m making this for him. Hope to do an inlay with his name on the deck, and a nice geometric pattern with some of the local woods we have here like Koa, and Wiliwili. I’m trying to keep this short enough to stand up in a home with an 8’ ceiling. I’ll build a stand for it when I’m done.
Huck, this won’t be nearly as nice as the wood boards you’ve made.
Got the bottom skin attached today. I need to think about the rails now. I have a bunch of balsa strips in a variety of thicknesses. I’ve used these to make wood rails in the past, but I’m not sure what I’m going to do with this board. I also have 3/16" thick cork so I may make a pattern alternating cork and balsa. The mahogany ply looks good, but it’s heavy. This is the second board I’ve used it on and the first one was heavy too. May not be an issue for a wall hanger.
First band is on. I used a combination of cork and balsa. The deck will overlap this layer so I need to get that done before I can move on. Not sure how long it will be until I get it done.
I go on ebay, and look at autobody stores. They usually have tapes in bulk at good prices. I’ve been having a lot of problems with the cheap masking tapes not peeling off the roll. I waste a lot of time trying to get the tape pulled of the roll, and it’s with 3 or 4 different brands including 3M, so I just used the good stuff.
I also buy mixing cups, and yellow spreaders from the autobody stores on ebay. I don’t always go to the same reseller, I just look for the best deal at that time.
go man Go!
wall surfboards
are very attractive projects these days
nothing quite as satisfying as an empty wall.
hard to find in these days of crowded surf.
…ambrose…
aloha and happy new year
from waipouli…
good time
Appy Gnu
Year
…ambrose…
gotta ding repair dopped
on me by a girl unknown
started sanding the tail
and found a kokua lam
would be good to hear
from or Of Willdog
2017 whodathunkit.
Finally got the top done. This is for my friend James, his birthday is Sept 24, so I added his name and nine 24. I used model airplane Balsa, Mahogany that I cut into thin strips for contrast, and Koa for the letters.
I also cut Redwood lats into 1/4" strips and started building out the rails. I’ll add one more 1/4" layer of balsa on the outer edge, so it will be a dark, light, dark, light band.
Learning a lot of what not to do with this one. I have lots of respect for Paul, Jarrod, Huck, and all the other wood board guys for the boards they’ve made.
I went into MS word and typed James and a variation of 9-24. Then I kept changing the font until I saw something that I liked but more importantly something I thought I could cut out with my tools and abilities. This font actually has a white stripe down the middle that makes it pop, but I couldn’t make it cleanly with the woods and my skills. I can probably add a groove and fill it, but it’s a narrow line and doing the curves is too much for a wood inlay. A guitar maker probably would be able to to do it and not even sweat. The koa was wood I got from the Kamaka Ukulele factory years ago. It was from their waste bin and it was pieces left over from cutting out the tops of the ukes. It’s already sanded down to about 1/8" or less. I just looked for a piece large enough to cut the whole name. Unfortunately I didn’t have one that could do the nine 24 so 24 is darker than nine. I cut the letters with a band saw then cleaned them up with a bench top sander. Did all the letters first.
For the James part, I cut out the balsa and inserted the letters before I glued the top down. I was harder than I wanted/expected it to be because balsa is so soft, it tears easily. I tried 2 times and messed up both times. Then I had some devine intervention and I managed to get it done cleanly. I used a dremel with a rotary bit and cut out the insides of the letters. Then I cleaned it up with sanding sticks I made to fit the size of the letters. It was really important to have a good support when I sanded it, because there’s only about 1/8" between some of the letters.
I gave up on adding the nine 24, but I know it will mean a lot to James, so I added it after the top was glued down. In hind sight, it was much easier to cut the wood with the solid backing. I used a dremel with a router bit and depth attachment to get the depth, a chisel, and an exacto knife. Cut the edges cleanly first, then slowly routed the inside, then clean up the corners.
I got most of the inner rail bands done late yesterday and just have to do the outer band. The inner bands were made with the 1/4" x 18" sticks I have. They are easy to bend. I just made a row of them to fit the rail curve and glued it with wood glue. They won’t show, so it doesn’t matter that there’s a bunch of pieces, and I’m glad that I have a good use for the sticks. I did them in an overlapping pattern, so there’s no straight line. It just takes a lot of time to lay them out and glue them. Funny that this is just a wall hanger, but I’m still trying to make it the same way I’d do it for surfing. I have to clear my head for the next one and not worry so much about making a surf-able board.
The board has been laminated with one layer of 4oz on each side. I’m making a couple of fins from wiliwili wood. I need to get them finished before I can finish the bottom. The top has been fill coated and is ready for sanding. Once I decide which fin looks better, I’ll stick it on and finish the board.
In the mean time I glued up a bunch of thicker balsa and cut out a stringer for a balsa board I’m going to make for myself. The stringer is 1.75" thick. I’ll make a new thread for that board.
